Building a Kingdom as a Kobold-Chapter 55: I Just Wanted To Look At My Stats, Not Get A Destiny Quest

Chapter 55 - I Just Wanted To Look At My Stats, Not Get A Destiny Quest

Light snapped back into existence.

I lay flat on my back, staring at the spiraling pattern above me. The Elder Tree. Still here. Not vaporized. Not floating sideways. Not teleported to the moon. So that was a win.

The flame shard at my hip pulsed once like it wanted me to know I was still its problem.

Then the system voice came back. No sarcastic jokes. No dry quips. Just calm, neutral authority.

[System Recovery Complete]

[Sovereign Class: Verified]

[Mythline Entanglement: Stable (For Now)]

[Stat Adjustment Calculated]

[Status Screen Available]

I blinked.

Wait. I hadn't looked at my full [Status] in... a long time. I'd been too busy not dying, building houses, not dying again, leading, and not dying some more.

I sat up slowly. My ribs ached. My tail felt like I'd slept wrong on it for six years. But my claws still worked. I opened the screen.

[Name: ??? (Sovereign - Ashring)]

[Species: Kobold]

[Title: Sovereign of Ashring, Flamebearer, System-Anomaly (Flagged)]

[Class: Civilization Sovereign (Tier I evolving)]

[Level: 47]

[HP: 1680 / 1680]

[MP: 920 / 920]

[Strength: 74]

[Agility: 82]

[Endurance: 91]

[Intelligence: 119]

[Charisma: 125]

[Leadership Affinity: MAXED (Overcap)]

[Sovereign Traits: Flame Sensitivity (Advanced), System Synchronization, Civilization Mimicry (Dungeon Variant)]

[Relic Equipped: Sovereign's First Flame (Bound)]

[Warning: You are operating outside standard dungeon parameters]

[Optional Quest Pending: Seek Origin Flame Fragment]

I stared blankly.

When did I get that much health? When did my Leadership Affinity max out? When did I get flagged as an "anomaly" like some broken file someone forgot to delete?

"Oh no," I whispered.

I scrolled back to the Leadership line and tapped it nervously.

[Leadership Affinity: Your people will instinctively organize around your commands. Allied morale and battlefield response drastically enhanced when within your aura range. Effects have exceeded Sovereign Tier I limits. System monitoring...]

The system had nothing snarky to add. It was dead serious. That made me panic more than anything else.

"So technically I'm strong now," I muttered. "That feels illegal."

Movement behind me.

"Boss?"

Relay. Of course. The rest of the disaster brigade followed close behind. Cinders, Flick, Glare, Tinker, even Stonealign. They crowded in, eyes wide, whispering in panic.

"You disappeared!"

"We thought you exploded!"

"Or got eaten by trees!"

"Or worse, joined the tree cult!"

I waved them off weakly. "I'm fine. System glitch. Nothing exploded."

Flick stared at me intensely. "Are you sure? You're glowing a little."

I glanced down. The flame shard was still faintly pulsing. Not ominous at all.

"Yes," I sighed, standing up slowly. "I'm fine. Mostly. Maybe. Let's not test it."

The system helpfully pinged.

[Condition: Mild System Instability Detected]

[Recommended Action: Rest, Hydrate, Stop Touching Ancient Myth Artifacts]

"Noted."

I limped out of the hollow root chamber into the soft light of Eshara's forest paths. My squad trailed behind me like a pack of overexcited, badly trained dogs.

Cinders clanked after me, arms crossed. "You should've told us you were going to randomly vanish into myth space!"

"Yes. My bad. Next time I'll pencil it into my nonexistent calendar," I muttered.

Relay scribbled furiously in his notebook. "Historic Myth Trigger Day: Sovereign survived, probable divine intervention, pending verification."

Tinker's scanner beeped softly at my side. "Still detecting mild mythline interference. You're probably fine. Mostly."

"Comforting," I deadpanned.

Flick tilted his head, wide-eyed. "Does this mean you're, like... super strong now? Can you punch a mountain?"

I paused. "Maybe a very small mountain. A disrespectful hill, perhaps."

The sun—or whatever weird sky orb they had—was starting to set behind the towering trees. Dappled gold light danced along the mossy ground. The half-elf settlement was strangely quiet.

As if on cue, the system popped up.

[Status: Settlement Observation Ongoing]

[Allied Sentiment: Cautious / Intrigued / Mildly Terrified]

[Optional Quest: Avoid Further Incidents (Difficulty: Impossible)]

"Yeah, figured."

We made camp outside the Elder Tree grounds. The squad's attempt at setting up tents immediately devolved into chaos.

Glare tried to tie a tarp between two trees only for the trees to move. Cinders cooked with local plants, sending Flick flying with a chemical explosion. Tinker got his scanner stuck. Relay labeled everything "Highly Aggressive Plant Life - Do Not Touch" then touched all of it.

I sat down at the campfire and stared at my open [Status] again. Stronger. Sharper. Officially terrifying on paper. Still just me. Still tired.

Night fell. The forest turned darker than seemed natural.

The flame shard was hot against my side. Wrong. I opened my eyes.

System ping.

[Warning: Unknown Entity Approaching]

[Classification: Non-Dungeon Origin - Hostile Intent Detected]

[Distance: 84 meters. Approaching rapidly.]

[Recommendation: Prepare for Engagement]

I stood quietly. Tinker blinked awake. "Wha?"

"Trouble."

The figure moved fast. Low crouch. Professional steps. Too big for kobold. Leather armor, light weapons. Bandit.

I slipped my claws toward my weapon, breath held.

The scout reached the perimeter. The forest betrayed him.

A whistle. A vine cord snapped upward, tangled his ankle. The scout twisted free, but three silent figures fell from the trees like stars.

The first elf struck low with a spear. The second flipped over the scout, staff cracking his shoulder. The third blocked his escape path, blade drawn, faint green glow.

The bandit recovered fast. Slashed wildly. One swipe missed, another nicked cloth. The lead hunter slipped inside his guard, spear haft slamming into ribs with a crack.

The man staggered, reversed grip, desperate slash. Met nothing but a green shimmer parry. The third hunter swept both legs. Bandit hit dirt hard.

Fight done in eight seconds.

The system chimed.

[Observation: Eshara Guardian Corps Combat Efficiency: Grade S]

[Recommendation: Do Not Pick Fights]

I lowered my claws slowly.

"I was totally about to step in. Honest."

The lead elf bound the bandit.

"Your flame stirred. We suspected someone would come."

"Who?" I asked.

The captive groaned. Human. Scarred. Mercenary.

"Outsiders. Raiders. Never dared cross Eshara borders before tonight."

I stared at the black trees.

System ping.

[Optional Subquest Added: Identify and Eliminate External Threat To Verdant Ring Stability]

[Reward: Unknown]

[Failure Penalty: Catastrophic Settlement Reputation Loss]

I sighed heavily.

"And now I have side quests too. Of course I do."